Britain gives £1.5bn aid to six nations with space ambitions

Nigeria’s first satellite, NigComSat-1R, launched on a Chinese rocket in 2011ChinaFotoPress/Getty

Six of the eight countries receiving the highest amounts of British aid are set to implement space programmes.

Nigeria said last night that it hoped to have its first astronauts within two years.

The six nations, which were given £1.5 billion of British taxpayers’ money last year, are funding programmes that often dwarf Britain’s own ambitions in space.

Critics asked why some of the most impoverished nations in Africa and Asia were spending millions on space programmes while still receiving aid.The revelation follows the political row over comments made by Godfrey Bloom, the UKIP MEP, who criticised the level of aid given to “Bongo Bongo Land”.

India, which has traditionally been the biggest recipient of Britain’s non-humanitarian aid, last month launched the first stage of…